Taxpayers beware of phishing email scam

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has warned taxpayers to be vigilant of phishing emails after nearly 80,000 people received tax rebate scam emails last year.

HMRC today urged caution of emails that promise a tax refund in exchange for personal, credit card and banking details, and warned people who respond risk having their details sold on to organised, criminal gangs.

The government body said the emails often link to a clone of HMRC's genuine website to trick unsuspecting recipients to handing over their details, but confirmed it would never send emails about a tax rebate.

Last year, HMRC took action to close down 522 illegal sites, which showed emails originating in the USA, Russia, Japan and central and Eastern Europe.

Genuine

Gareth Lloyd, head of digital security at HMRC, said: "We only ever contact customers who are genuinely due tax back in writing, by post.

"If anyone receives an email offering a tax rebate and claiming to be from HMRC, please send it to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk before deleting it permanently.

Do not click on websites or links contained in suspicious emails or open attachments

Follow advice published at getsafeonline.co.uk

If you have reason to believe you have been victim of an email scam, report the matter to your bank/card issuer as soon as possible

Phishing

Phishing scams are typically fraudulent email messages from seemingly legitimate sources (your internet service provider, mobile phone provider, bank etc). These messages usually direct you to a counterfeit website or ask you to divulge private information (password, PIN, credit card numbers, or other account updates), which is then used to commit identity theft.

Credit card

Used by the holder to buy goods and services, credit cards also have a monthly or annual spending limit, which may be raised or lowered depending on the creditworthiness of the cardholder. But unlike charge cards, borrowers aren’t forced to pay the balance off in full every month and, as long as they make a stated minimum payment, can carry a balance from one month to the next, generating compound interest. As the issuing company is effectively giving you a short-term loan, most credit cards have variable and relatively high interest rates. Allowing the interest to compound for too long may result in dire financial straits.

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